Any new waves planned?

[Lendosan 21]

I'm just curious because I am coming back into the game and I'd love for there to be more waves coming. Any ideas if there are?

[Snipafist 7,581]

We're supposed to be getting an announcement for wave 8 eventually, but it's all very vague at this point.

I'm not opposed to a less intense release schedule than X-Wing and I'm sure that the focus on Legion has contributed to why we're currently on the back burner, but it would be nice to at least know what's going on.

[Gottmituns205 1,604]

18 minutes ago, Snipafist said:

We're supposed to be getting an announcement for wave 8 eventually, but it's all very vague at this point.

I'm not opposed to a less intense release schedule than X-Wing and I'm sure that the focus on Legion has contributed to why we're currently on the back burner, but it would be nice to at least know what's going on.

Dude I doubt we're even on the stove any more. 

[Norell 1,205]

"Intense release schedule" he says.....

[Snipafist 7,581]

Nerds be salty, news at 11.

[Gottmituns205 1,604]

8 minutes ago, Snipafist said:

Nerds be salty, news at 11.

One wave a year versus seeing other games getting multiple releases a year, one of the games is older than the rest. Clearly they don't see this game as a major money maker, it's on the bottom of the pile, and without even a teaser to keep the appetite wet. I mean i was a huge Armada supporter, but then it just got stale for me so quickly. 

I'm not salty, I'm just a realist, Wave 8 better be good and juicy or else this game is gonna sink further. 

[ryanabt 1,188]

6 minutes ago, Gottmituns205 said:

One wave a year versus seeing other games getting multiple releases a year, one of the games is older than the rest. Clearly they don't see this game as a major money maker, it's on the bottom of the pile, and without even a teaser to keep the appetite wet. I mean i was a huge Armada supporter, but then it just got stale for me so quickly. 

I'm not salty, I'm just a realist, Wave 8 better be good and juicy or else this game is gonna sink further. 

Ones own inability to enjoy a solid game without a constant infusion of new stuff is not the responsibility of the gaming company, it is a characteristic of the player. I played 6th ed. Wood Elves throughout 7th & 8th ed. No new stuff and yet I had a blast. I could play with exactly what I have now and continue enjoying this game into the future. If it got stale, it is either because your meta didn't change or because you get bored.

[AllWingsStandyingBy 4,660]

1 hour ago, Snipafist said:

I'm not opposed to a less intense release schedule than X-Wing and I'm sure that the focus on Legion has contributed to why we're currently on the back burner, but it would be nice to at least know what's going on.

Some features of Armada make me really appreciate a slower release schedule, compared to say X-Wing. 

The Commander system in Armada means that the variety available for list-building is actually exponentially greater than just the amount of ships that have been released.  A CR90 is an entire different tactical tool when flown by Cracken/Mothma (defensive kite), Riekaan (immortal block-threat), Ackbar (broadside sniper), or Raddus (mobile spawn point).  So, with each new ship (and Commander) that releases, in some sense we almost get 2*X new ships (where X = number of that faction's commanders, and 2 because there is a Mark 1 and a Mark 2 ship).  At the very least, the fact that Commanders have such an influence on how their fleets are built and how they play, there are a lot more interesting choices when constructing than just the amount of ships available.

The presence of squadrons also helps, because building a squadron compliment and balancing it with your ship selection really ups the diversity of what you can fill a 400pt fleet out with, so a fleet can tinker with squads or ships or both and change its strategic and tactical philosophy.

Unlike, say, X-Wing, I feel like there are fewer "dud" pieces in Armada.  In X-Wing, common consensus seems to be that abut half of the ships are not very viable competitively, and the same ~10 pilots make up the vast majority of tournament results.  In Armada, because of the larger fleet size and the influence of commanders, I think I can find homes for more of the available ships and squadrons in a viable fleet.  Looking at the Rebel line-up, I have found places for every ship in the line-up in my tourney or CC games over the past two years, with the sole exception of the Pelta-class, which I just cannot find a use for with my playstyle.  Looking at Rebels in X-Wing, I haven't flown an X-Wing, B-Wing, A-Wing, E-Wing, YT-1300, HWK-290, Rebel TIE Fighter, or Z-95 (about 50% of the available ships) in the past two years, nor do I really feel like I could get any of those ships into a viable squadron at the moment even if I was hellbent on doing so.

Finally, Armada games take longer to play, and at least for me this means I get fewer games under my belt than games which have shorter play times.  (This isn't offered as a pro or con of Armada, just as a feature of the game).


These four features mean that I don't find myself getting bored with Armada or feel like it is getting stale, even with the slow release schedule of one release per year we seem to be experiencing.  I still want to play more Armada any chance that I get, and I still have lots of fleets I'd love to try out on the table.   Conversely, with X-Wing I find the game to get very repetitive and stale a few months after a release, even though the game gets more releases / year than Armada.  I like both games, don't get me wrong, but at least for me Armada doesn't need a quick influx of new material to hold my attention or make me want to build a new list.


All of that being said, it would be nice if FFG at least gave the community some attention and acknowledged that things are coming down the pipeline, even if it's a slower flow than other games like X-Wing or Legion.
 

Edited April 3, 2018 by AllWingsStandyingBy

[GrandAdmiralCrunch 2,257]

There has been rumors and the cryptic “something big,” from FFG. 

It sucks that we haven’t gotten news yet, but at the same time we’re not in the muppet arm waving panic zone either. 

We are in the window for a new release announcement. If the first of June passes with no news, then it’s time to freak out. 

[AllWingsStandyingBy 4,660]

26 minutes ago, Gottmituns205 said:

One wave a year versus seeing other games getting multiple releases a year, one of the games is older than the rest. Clearly they don't see this game as a major money maker, it's on the bottom of the pile, and without even a teaser to keep the appetite wet. I mean i was a huge Armada supporter, but then it just got stale for me so quickly. 

I'm not salty, I'm just a realist, Wave 8 better be good and juicy or else this game is gonna sink further. 

Well, there's a few other reasons as to why Legion might be getting a Herculean push at the moment.  I mean, it's not like Armada is entirely off of the radar, we just got a wave released a couple months ago, we just don't know yet what is next (bear in Mind that Imperial Assault players are also waiting with bated breath for an announcement of something new, even though we know thanks to a World's Prize article accidental spoil that they are getting some new units that have yet still not been officially announced, despite the accidental spoil over a month ago).  I wonder if FFG is waiting until the Star Wars World Champs in May to make official announcements for their other Star Wars lines?


As to LEGION, it's getting such a push because it's got potential to be a huge game but is going up against the massive competition of Warhammer 40k, Infinity, and Warmahordes.  The 25-32mm tabletop skirmish market has always been a saturated one, and it's one that neither X-Wing or Armada had to compete with when they were released.  Legion is also FFG's first foray into the "hobby game" sphere, where customers are required to build models and paint, so they need to draw from a broader sphere than just their typical customer base, who do not necessarily have experience with hobby gaming.  So blare the trumpets, run the printers on overdrive, and spam the news releases.  Legion's attention shouldn't be seen as any slight upon Armada.  But if Worlds comes and goes without an official announcement about Armada, then I think it's safe to worry and feel slighted.

[ninclouse2000 1,061]

At this rate we may not get a wave until thanksgiving or Christmas.  I’m losing a bit of interest in armada, especially when I see that legion is supposed to get monthly releases. They really need to announce a new wave soon for armada and get it onto shelves by June or July or I fear a lot of players will stop supporting the game.  It also needs to be a knockout wave to make up for the imperials getting a reskinned ISD.

[ISD Avenger 897]

^Monthly releases may not be a good thing. Doesn’t really give time to let things settle. 

2 main releases a year I think is fine. It wouldn’t hurt to supplement this with some card packs or minor packs, such as stations.

Communication from FFG could be improved. I can wait for a release but I’d like to see some previews more frequently.

I do agree that after a reskin release, a proper imperial release is in order.

[eliteone 660]

5 minutes ago, ISD Avenger said:

^Monthly releases may not be a good thing. Doesn’t really give time to let things settle. 

2 main releases a year I think is fine. It wouldn’t hurt to supplement this with some card packs or minor packs, such as stations.

Communication from FFG could be improved. I can wait for a release but I’d like to see some previews more frequently.

I do agree that after a reskin release, a proper imperial release is in order.

Get a nice Imperial release going, a Reb/Empire squad pack ala R&V (Resistance Bombers? U-Wings? TIE/s?), and a Rebel retrofit pack. (Neb-B? McLiberty?)

[cynanbloodbane 3,469]

I honestly can't say I was disappointed with the ISD reskin pack. It has caused a massive shift in the meta. I expect we will get our wave 8 announcement soon. The big question then becomes, if we will have product by GenCon.

[Stasy 2,502]

Initially I was bummed by the ISD reskin. But having it in hand changed my mind. Good stuff in there makes up for a lack of a new model.

I'm enjoying painting Legion (haven't played a single game yet), and there are some Armada tournaments finally happening late this month, so I do have a reason to play some games coming up.

I have accepted that Armada is a slow release thing. I'm not expecting anything anytime soon. And that's ok. Kinda. 

[AllWingsStandyingBy 4,660]

37 minutes ago, ninclouse2000 said:

At this rate we may not get a wave until thanksgiving or Christmas.  I’m losing a bit of interest in armada, especially when I see that legion is supposed to get monthly releases. They really need to announce a new wave soon for armada and get it onto shelves by June or July or I fear a lot of players will stop supporting the game.  It also needs to be a knockout wave to make up for the imperials getting a reskinned ISD.

I'd say be careful what you wish for, as I think it's darn close to a physical law of gaming that there is a strong inverse relationship between overall balance and speed of releases.  Gamesworkshop has been a monthly release schedule for a long while now, and 40k is often considered to the pinnacle of unbalanced miniature gaming (as per its own player base).  When GW relaunched Warhammer Fantasy, they dropped points cost entirely and basically deferred a bunch of the burden onto players themselves to figure out balanced match-ups.  With regards to FFG's Star Wars properties, I would say pretty confidently that Armada is its best balanced product (where "balance" = the % of available options that can be included in viable lists) and also has the slowest release schedule.  X-Wing, on the other hand, has pretty crummy overall balance (just look at the forums here to see the number of threads crying for nerfs, complaining of powercreep, etc.) and has typically had a release rate 2-3x higher than Armada.  I don't play Destiny, but my friends who do (or who did) dabble in it have complained about power combos and runaway archetypes, and it's got the fastest release schedule of all the current Star Wars games, I think.

[AllWingsStandyingBy 4,660]

Personally, I loved the ISD reskin.  The ISD-1, ISD-2, Cymoon Refit, and Kuat Refit really do play like four different ships by each bringing their own strengths (and weaknesses) to the table.  If you try to fly an ISD1 like you would an ISD2 or a Cymoon, you're gonna not get nearly as much from it.  The model's repaint was exquisite, and the upgrade cards in the pack have introduced quite a few worthwhile options to the Imperial and General lineup. 

Also, if nothing else, the ISD is the iconic ship of Star Wars space combat.  It's been ubiquitous through every space battle.  I like seeing them on the table, and I hope there is always an opportunity to bring one or more in a decent fleet.  I'd rather see the paradigmatic Star Wars battleship gets lots of customization options than see it replaced or edged out by less iconic curiosities.  One of the biggest (and long-running) critiques of X-Wing is that the eponymous X-Wing itself has been garbage for years now, and if you look at top tables during a tournament rarely do you seen anything iconic from the Star Wars films being flown (lots of Scurrg H6 Bombes, Jumpmasters, Khiraxes, VCX-100s, K-Wings, etc. ...).


So I welcome reskins and alternate pilot options (e.g. the CC squadrons), as long as the new stuff being introduced presents new interesting options and alternative ways to use and enjoy ships/squadrons that might already exist.  In that sense, I think the Chimaera was a resounding success.

[Gottmituns205 1,604]

2 hours ago, ryanabt said:

Ones own inability to enjoy a solid game without a constant infusion of new stuff is not the responsibility of the gaming company, it is a characteristic of the player. I played 6th ed. Wood Elves throughout 7th & 8th ed. No new stuff and yet I had a blast. I could play with exactly what I have now and continue enjoying this game into the future. If it got stale, it is either because your meta didn't change or because you get bored.

New waves bring new changes, no content makes the game go stale and I don't have the ability to travel to comps and face new players on a regular basis...but hey!

[ryanabt 1,188]

Just now, Gottmituns205 said:

New waves bring new changes, no content makes the game go stale and I don't have the ability to travel to comps and face new players on a regular basis...but hey!

I mean, I get it. I think more ships are fun. Yet, on the other hand, with us in wave 8 there are tons of options and ways of playing. If we get bored because something new isn't out, that says something about our (either societal or personal) inability to maintain interest without a constant influx of something new.

[Geressen 826]

2 hours ago, Snipafist said:

Nerds be salty, news at 11.

 

you used the wrong thing

this is the one.

[ouzel 407]

I will never understand the need to keep add new things to a game for players to keep playing it.

[DrakonLord 752]

16 minutes ago, ouzel said:

I will never understand the need to keep add new things to a game for players to keep playing it.

I agree, but apparently thats how it is.

I find that we need new content at least on a scheduled basis to draw new people in.

Im often playing armada at my LGS and someone comes up and this is the basic convo we have.

Hello

Hi

Whats this?

Oh its called SW:armada, you battle against each other with fleets you create.

Oh awesome, so you collect the models?

Yeah they very cool looking

Do they release often?

Oh 1 or 2 waves a year 

That doesnt seem much, is it scheduled or something?

Welll..... or something.

Ive seen Xwing being played here before and they apparently get 3 or waves a year etc, and ive seen all the advertising for legion in store, does that release regularly?

Oh legion? Im not into that but it does release monthly.

Oh cool ill go check that out.

[DOMSWAT911 436]

I always love this one : If something is not broke, don't try to fix it

FFG, please do not try too hard to do new crazy stuff that could kill the game. Remember that Armada is a very well balanced game and it's well this way.

I prefered a slow release rate with a good product at the end than a fast rate "King of the moment" that will end in a closet the next wave. I'm looking at you X-Wing

I still use my good old  VSD (whit the help of JJ or the new stuff) and that something really great in that game.

I will buy all the new ship but I like the fact that I can decide to use different kind of ship whatever the wave it is.

Old ship still valuable!!!

[svelok 6,487]

1 hour ago, ouzel said:

I will never understand the need to keep add new things to a game for players to keep playing it.

It keeps the meta fluid and changing.

[DOMSWAT911 436]

3 minutes ago, svelok said:

It keeps the meta fluid and changing.

Is the meta more important than the game itself?

Without a new meta, the game is dying?

I hope not.

For me, the meta is the same as fashion. Today, what's "in", tomorrow, will be something new. So I don't really care about that meta thing. I know... If you are a competitive player, you will call this heresy.

I understand well that it's good to know what the meta is if you are on the competitive level, this way you can be more prepared to what you will fight against in a competition. But using the meta don't bring you necessarily the victory, it's only one asset of the game.

But if you are looking for casual games with friends, the meta is not that important. So... it will mostly depend for what kind of game you are loooking for. But that's only my opinion. From someone who start the game at the release of the wave 2 and like that slow rate of release and casual play.